Fallen Down
by BeatriceBennet
Summary: "They'd always imagined running away. Climbing the mountain. Legends said that those who climbed Mt. Ebbott never returned. Well, perfect then."


The incline was steep, the path uneven, roots sticking up out of the ground, just tempting someone to trip and fall. Despite it being the middle of the afternoon, dark clouds obscured the sun, leaving everything overcast in dull grey. It wasn't raining, but it seemed like it might any second.

Fortunately, anger and determination fueled the small child making their desperate way up the path. They stumbled multiple times, but managed never to fall over, despite the tears stinging their eyes and obscuring their vision.

 _Stupid, stupid, stupid,_ the words echoed in their thoughts, pounding like their small heart as they dug their heels into the ground, holding their hands out in front of them in case they fell. They scrambled up a ledge, a sharp branch cutting through their hand, but they ignored the pain and continued on.

They'd had enough.

They'd always imagined running away, Climbing the mountain. Legends said that those who climbed Mt. Ebbott never returned. Well, perfect then.

They felt a few droplets of water, but didn't stop. They were panting now, their breath coming out short, but they ignored the rain, ignored their racing heart and shortened breath, begging them to stop and rest, ignored the pain in their hand, the pain in their mind, the words that wouldn't stop echoing, threatening them… They had to get away, run, run far away, get up, get away, as far as they could, and never stop, not for an instant.

They weren't looking at the ground when they finally tripped.

It was just a root, like any other, that their foot caught on, and before they could stop themselves, found their body pinwheeling out of control. They scrunched their eyes shut and braced themselves for what they knew was coming next… just the soft impact as they slammed into the ground…

But it never came.

Instead of impact, the ground crumbled beneath them as they fell, and it all happened so fast that before they even knew what was happening, they found their grip slipping away on anything solid whatsoever. They felt that horrible swooping sensation in their stomach as they began to truly fall, down into a seemingly endless abyss. They shut their eyes, and some dim part of them thought, _this is it then, this is how it ends… I suppose there are worse ways to go._

They landed head forward, and the impact slammed through their entire body. They waited for… they weren't sure what. The end? Their soul floating away from their body, perhaps a bright light coming towards them, a weightless, floating sensation? They wouldn't know what it was like to die.

But what they felt instead was… pain.

They felt it first in their hands, then their arms, their shoulders, their legs, everything hurt, everything was bruised and throbbed, only getting more and more intense. Was death supposed to hurt this much?

Unless of course they'd somehow survived the fall… They'd landed on something at least somewhat soft, which must have broken it in some way. They let out a soft groan.

They tried to muster the strength to move, to cry out, to do anything, but their brain was having a difficult time reaching their muscles, and so they remained there, lying face down on the ground, still and silent.

They didn't know how long they lay there, trying to block out the pain, wishing more than anything that the fall had killed them. Then they wouldn't be alive now to feel this. Hadn't the whole point of everything been so they couldn't feel anymore? And now they hurt all over, especially their left leg.

But no.

They couldn't let it end here, not now.

If this wasn't the end, then this wasn't the end.

Using every ounce of determination they had, they managed to hoist their bruised and aching body up to a position from which they could at least look around and gauge their surroundings.

They seemed to be lying on a bed of flowers, which must have done something to break the fall. They seemed to be in some kind of very large cavern, and when they managed to look up, they could see nothing but darkness above them. How far had they fallen? Or perhaps, the sky was dark enough to begin with that it simply blended with the darkness of the cavern.

With great effort they pushed themselves to a sitting position, and tried to assess the damage. Their hand was still bleeding from when they'd cut it on the branch, but that was the least of their worries. Their head throbbed too, even though they didn't think they'd hit it, and they couldn't move their left leg even an inch. They reached down and touched it, hoping to goodness that it wasn't broken. Would they be able to stand on it?

They looked around the cavern. What were they going to do? They didn't know where to go, if there was even a possible way to climb out, and if so, how they'd be able to manage it injured like this.

Was there anyone down here who could help them? That was a nice thought, but they knew the reality: if they couldn't find a way out… unable to move much… it wouldn't be long before they slowly starved to death.

Someone had to be around. Someone who could help them. They didn't have anything to lose, so they cleared their throat and called out,

"Is there anybody down here! Help! I'm hurt!"

They waited, the echoes of their own voice bouncing off the walls, but beyond that, they could hear nothing. They became aware then of how eerily quiet it was down here, and felt the overwhelming urge to fill that silence again.

"HELP!" they cried louder, more of a scream than a yell. "HELP, PLEASE! SOMEONE HELP ME! IS ANYONE HERE? I'M HURT!"

They stopped for breath, still panting, possibly from the run, possibly from the pain. Their words echoed back again, but when the echoes faded, they could pick up the unmistakable sound of footsteps.

"Hello!" they called out again, eagerly. "Hello! Is someone there?! I'm over here!"

The footsteps grew louder and their eyes strained to see where they were coming from.

"I'm coming!" a voice called back, and they felt as if they might cry from relief. They weren't alone. Someone else was here, someone was coming, someone was going to rescue them.

The person who came, however, was not what they had expected. They weren't sure what they had expected but this wasn't it.

Their rescuer came to a stop in front of them, and put his hand to his mouth. Or perhaps paw would be a better word. The person standing in front of them was most certainly not… human.

A monster. Of course. They'd fallen so far… they'd fallen into the Underground itself. They'd only heard talk of the Underground. They'd learned all about it in history class, but to actually meet a monster… a real, living, breathing monster.

It was a boy, they were reasonably sure, and he resembled nothing more than a small white goat. He wore a green and yellow striped shirt, and sported two small horns poking out of his fluffy head. He had large paws for feet and hands, and his eyes were a yellowish orange color, and looked at them with utmost pity in his eyes.

"You've fallen," he said, gaping unashamedly at them. "And you're… you're a human, right?"

"Yes!" they responded.

"You fell from… up there?" He pointed vaguely to the top of the cavern. "But wait… no, you're… you're hurt. I… I'm sorry, I'm… What… what's your name?"

"Chara."

"Chara, huh? That's a nice name. My name is Asriel."

"Nice… nice to meet you, Asriel," they said. "I just…" they groaned a bit. "I'm having trouble… I think I might have really messed up my leg. I don't think it's broken but…"

"Oh gosh, here, here, let me help you!" The goat child, Asriel, came forward and took their hand, fortunately the uninjured one, helping them to their feet.

"Thank you," they said, leaning on him for support, gingerly testing out the weight on their injured leg. It couldn't take much, but they were pretty sure it wasn't broken. "Thank you," they repeated.

"Well, I couldn't just leave you here! Come on, we'll go back to my house, my mom and dad will know just what to do to fix your leg. I'm not… I'm not as good at magic and stuff so… I'll let them do it."

"Magic?" Chara looked at him, intrigued. "You mean, like, monster magic?"

"Well, yeah! I'm… well, you'll see. Come on, you can come to my house."

Chara glanced back at the bed of flowers they'd fallen on and up at the ceiling where, far above, somewhere, was the surface, the mountain they'd been climbing, the life they'd wanted nothing more than to leave behind. They felt like they ought to want to find the fastest way back, but… they weren't in much of a hurry.

The house was not too far from there, but when they arrived, Chara was already panting again. It was small and cottage-like, a large tree growing in front of it. Chara kept leaning on Asriel, hoping they weren't putting too much of their weight onto him. He was about their height, perhaps a bit taller, and probably not much stronger. He was most certainly a child, probably around the same age as them.

He opened the door without knocking and called out.

"Mom! Come quick! I found an injured human in the cavern nearby!"

Chara heard a surprised noise from the other room, and another, much larger monster, presumably Asriel's mother, came running in. She was very tall, wearing a simple, long purple dress with an unfamiliar emblem emblazoned on it. She too resembled a goat, like a larger version of Asriel. They supposed they ought to feel intimidated by his mother's presence, but strangely enough, she gave them a sense of peace, and safety… and… hope.

"Oh my goodness, you poor child!" the woman said, kneeling down to be level with the children. "Are you hurt?"

Chara nodded. "But… but not too bad. I… I don't want to be an inconvenience to you."

"You are most certainly not an inconvenience! Come in, please. Oh, you must be so tired and dirty… How far have you walked today? Here, allow me to heal your leg."

Chara froze, all of their senses tingling, not wanting to be touched or looked at, but they held their ground as Asriel's mother reached out and touched their leg lightly with a soft paw. Instantly, a warm feeling spread throughout their leg, and the pain dissipated like mist. She laid her paw on their hand next, then their arm, and soon, nearly all the pain had gone. Chara hadn't realized just how painful it had been until it was lifted, and they couldn't help but breathe an involuntary sigh of relief.

"Now, isn't that better, my child? Please, come in. Don't just stand there on the threshold. Are you thirsty or hungry? Do you need anything?"

But in that moment, Chara honestly wanted nothing more than a warm bed and sheets. They wanted to be tucked in and to sleep for a long time.

"I think… could I possibly just have a place to sleep?"

"Oh, of course, my dear, how could I be so thoughtless, you must be simply exhausted. And I've forgotten to introduce myself as well! I am Toriel. Queen of the Underground."

Chara's tired brain almost missed that small, but very important chunk of information, but when it registered with them, their eyes widened and their mind raced. Queen? Queen of all the monsters? What should they do, ought they bow down or something? They didn't know if monsters had a different sort of etiquette than humans did.

They turned to Asriel, who was still holding their hand in a nice, warm sort of way, even though he didn't have to. That made him a prince then… Prince Asriel did sound rather nice.

"No need to worry, my child, I promise you, I will do nothing to hurt you. You are safe here. And you need rest now, do you not?"

Chara nodded, relieved, as the prospect of a bed seemed the nicest thing in the world to them.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I did not catch your name," Asriel's mother—Toriel—said.

"Oh. Um, I'm Chara."

"Lovely! Well then, Chara. Follow me, I'll show you to Asriel's room, you can sleep in his bed for now."

"Yeah, you can sleep in my bed." Asriel echoed. "It's not a problem, don't worry. And the sheets are clean, I promise. It's super comfy."

Chara followed Toriel to the bedroom, becoming truly aware of just how tired they were. The room was small, but cozy, a small bed in the corner next to a dresser with a potted plant on it… a large golden flower.

"Goodnight, my child, do sleep well," Toriel said. "Come and find us when you awaken, and you can tell us more about your journey. But for now, rest." She turned off the light and shut the door softly without even waiting for Chara to get into bed. They stared after her for a few moments, kind of in shock at everything that had just happened… One second they were climbing the mountain in a blind rage, the next they were a houseguest in a home of goat people… no, not people. Monsters. Magical monsters that healed their leg with magic, and offered them a place to stay. Chara had heard so much about monsters, but it was quite different to encounter them here and real.

They got into Asriel's bed, not bothering to change. It wasn't like they even had anything to change into, but their clothes were grimy and dirty, with bloodstains and sweat on them. But it didn't matter, right now sleep was more important.

They pulled the blankets up to their chin and breathed a sigh of relief. The bed was more comfortable than anything they'd laid on in a long time. They felt as if they were sinking into the mattress, and didn't want to ever get up.

It was weird… the way that they already felt so safe and at home. A feeling they honestly couldn't remember ever feeling before in their short, miserable life. They knew they ought to be desperate to return… after all, they knew the stories, they knew the facts. That the monsters were all trapped down here by an impenetrable barrier, and that no one could exit the Underground. Did that mean that Chara was trapped down here for the rest of their life?

The thought ought to fill them with fear and the desire to get home, but oddly enough it didn't. Hadn't that been the entire point of running away: to escape their life? Perhaps this was what was meant to have happened. Perhaps… perhaps they had a home here. Perhaps here, they could finally be truly safe, truly happy…

Perhaps monsters were different from humans. Perhaps monsters had the capability to love, to be kind, to be merciful.

Perhaps this was Chara's new home.

Perhaps they were okay with that.


End file.
